Semi crashes into Richmond River
Traffic on the Pacific Highway was disrupted after a semi-trailer ran off the road and into the Richmond River, south of Ballina, this morning.
Police said the incident happened about 6.45am when the northbound semi-trailer – carrying a container filled with rubber beads – crashed through a guard rail and down an embankment into the river at Broadwater.
The driver, believed to be a 28-year-old man from Ellensborough, managed to escape the cabin before emergency services arrived on the scene.
He has been airlifted to Lismore Base Hospital suffering facial and spinal injuries.
The crash happened on a single-carriageway stretch of highway. The northbound lane was closed and traffic was alternated.
It was expected both lanes would be closed when salvage operations began.
